People

Current Faculty

Dr. Joanna Endter-Wada is a Professor of Natural Resource Policy and Social Science in the Quinney College
of Natural Resources and Director of the WaterMAPS™ Initiative at USU. Her research
focuses on conceptualizing and analyzing linkages between humans and biophysical aspects
of ecosystems, with emphases on water resources, urban ecology, and public land and
wetland management. Main emphases of her research program and extension activities
for many years have been urban landscape water use and conservation, and policy and
social responses to drought and climate change.

Dr. R. Douglas Ramsey is a Professor of Wildland Resources in the Quinney College of Natural Resources
and the Director of the Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems Laboratory.
His research focuses on developing techniques to monitor natural landscapes. He develops
tools and protocols to use remotely sensed imagery collected from various platforms
to assess and monitor natural resources.

Past Faculty

Dr. Roger Kjelgren is a former Professor of Horticulture in the Department of Plants, Soils & Climate
of the College of Agriculture at USU. His research focuses on water conservation in
irrigated horticultural landscapes with an emphasis on the use of native plants and
landscape designs. He develops and disseminates information on demand-side management
through effective irrigation and sustainable landscaping to the green industry, water
purveyors, and the general public. Currently, Dr. Kjelgren is the Director of the
Mid-Florida Research and Education Center in Apopoka, Florida, which is part of the
University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

Dr. Christopher M.U. Neale is a former Professor of Irrigation Engineering in the College of Engineering and
Director of the Remote Sensing Services Laboratory at USU. His research interests
are in developing remote sensing applications in hydrology, irrigated agriculture,
and for monitoring natural resources. He developed a low-cost airborne remote sensing
system that has been recently used to map spatially distributed energy balance terms
and evapotranspiration of riparian and agricultural vegetation. Currently, Dr. Neale
is the Director of Research for the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute
at the University of Nebraska.

Staff

Christine M. Garrard (M.S.) is a Programmer Analyst in the Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems
Laboratory in the Department of Wildland Resources of the Quinney College of Natural
Resources at USU. She has contributed to varied research projects, including carbon
sequestration, crowd-sourced tree inventories, topographic surveys, and animal movements.
She develops the WaterMAPS™ code and helps conduct WaterMAPS™ analyses.

Diana T. Wuenschell (f/k/a Glenn) (M.S.) is a Research Associate in the Department of Environment and Society of the
Quinney College of Natural Resources at USU and Projects Manager with the WaterMAPS™
Initiative of the Center for Water Efficient Landscaping. As an interdisciplinary
team member, she has contributed to research focusing on water conservation behavior
and the development of the analytic tools for characterizing urban landscape water
use. She conducts data analysis in the campus WaterMAPS™ Lab as well as managing field
research teams as crew leader.

Service Providers

Remote Sensing and GIS Laboratory at USU has been a leader in the areas of remote sensing, geospatial analysis, data
collection, and data distribution for more than 20 years. Christopher (Chris) McGinty serves as the Assistant Director and Ellie I. Leydsman McGinty is a Researcher II experienced in the use of Trimble eCognition, an object-based
image analysis program, to develop landscape classifications. The RS/GIS Laboratory
is staffed by a dynamic team of researchers, analysts, and developers with expertise
in the fields of ecology, remote sensing, geographic information systems, bioregional
planning, land cover mapping, applied economics, software development, and web-based
development, and it supports both public and private clients. Notable clients include
the State of Utah Governor’s Office, Utah Public Lands Policy Office, Utah Department
of Natural Resources, United States Geological Survey, United States Forest Service,
Bureau of Land Management, Department of Defense, Environmental Protection Agency,
and the National Park Service.

Graduate Students

Current Students

Jessica Ivy Thomson is a Graduate Research Assistant with the Center for Water Efficient Landscaping.
She is starting a Ph.D. Program in the Department of Environment and Society of the
Quinney College of Natural Resources. She received her B.S. degree with Honors in
University Studies at USU and is completing her MPSH degree in Horticulture from the
Plants, Soils and Climate Department at USU. Her research focuses on understanding
how to implement water conservation and work directly with people on behavioral solutions
to environmental problems.

Former Students

Clayton S. Lewis (M.E., Ph.D.) integrated image processing, evapotranspiration estimation, data visualization,
and reporting through programming and technical support for WaterMAPS™ in connection
with the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District Project. He was a Graduate Research
Assistant/Associate with the Remote Sensing Services Laboratory and completed his
Ph.D. in 2016 from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in USU’s
College of Engineering. Clay currently works in private industry.

Adrian P. Welsh (M.S.) developed an early version of the WaterMAPS™ software as a Graduate Research
Assistant. His area of expertise is GIS and he was instrumental in providing the spatial
components and analysis capabilities of the software. Adrian earned his M.S. degree
in 2011 from the Department of Environment and Society in USU’s Quinney College of
Natural Resources. Since graduating, he worked for the Utah Department of Transportation
and is currently working for Meridian Engineering.

Diana T. Glenn (n/k/a Wuenschell) (M.S.) contributed social science expertise and connected interdisciplinary perspectives
in developing the WaterMAPS™ analytics. She interviewed and surveyed participants
in several research projects over the years (including Logan City and Weber Basin
Water Conservancy District projects) and brought her expertise as a Master Gardener
to bear on those interactions. Diana earned her M.S. degree in 2010 from the Department
of Environment and Society in USU’s Quinney College of Natural Resources. She currently
works for USU Extension with the Center for Water Efficient Landscaping.

Douglas C. Kilgren (M.S.) researched institutional landscape water conservation through an experimental
approach of working with custodians in charge of maintaining landscaping on school
properties in the Granite School District. His work provided unique insights into
varying contexts within which landscape maintenance occurs in the institutional sector
and effective approaches for promoting conservation in those settings. Doug earned
his M.S. degree in 2001 from the Department of Plants, Soils and Climate in USU’s
College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences. He currently works in the landscape profession
in Seattle, Washington.

Christina O. Klien (M.S.) focused on analyzing human behavioral aspects of household and business landscape
watering practices utilizing survey data collected in the Layton City project. Christina
earned her M.S. degree in 2004 from the Department of Environment and Society in USU’s
Quinney College of Natural Resources. She spent several years as a water conservation
coordinator in Scottsdale, Arizona and now resides and works in Germany.

Fayek A. Farag (Ph.D.) worked on developing the analytic techniques for estimating farm and landscape
water use using remote sensing and geographic information systems. He worked on the
Layton project as a Graduate Research Assistant and earned his Ph.D. in 2003 from
the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in USU’s College of Engineering.
Fayek was lead author on a 2011 article (published in Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing) which received the 2012 award for ESRI Best Scientific Paper in Geographic Information
Systems. Fayek is currently working in the water management sector in Australia.